Tag Archives: Cassandra Peterson

November 19, 2012 · 12:23 am

THE SEVEN MOST INFLUENTIAL MOVIE HOSTS: 1954 – 1987

Mad Marvin

Mad Marvin

Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog are familiar with my fondness for bad movies and for movie host shows. The bad movie subculture and the realm of movie hosts have always walked hand in hand with many movie hosts even appearing in various schlock film classics during their careers. Here is a salute to some of the most influential figures who made hosting bad and/or weird movies the time-honored American folk art it is today.

7. MAD MARVIN (Real name: Terry Bennett)

Program: Shock Theatre

Run: 1957 – 1959

Home Base: Chicago

Comment: Long before Jerry Bishop’s more well-known host Svengoolie and his even more famous “son” played by Rich Koz, Mad Marvin brought late-night b-movie fun to the Windy City. Marvin was a mad beatnik and was described in contemporary accounts as ” a combination of Charles Addams, Ernie Kovacs and Jack Paar.” Bennett’s program was so popular in Chicago that celebrities like Continue reading →

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June 4, 2011 · 11:42 pm

WOLFMAN MAC AND ELVIRA TONIGHT

 Today instead of looking at a movie host of the past we’ll look at two who are still active. First up is the one and only Wolfman Mac, seen in the photo with his friend Boney Bob. Wolfman Mac hosts Chiller Drive-In, on which he shows the usual beloved B-movies of the past in the time-honored movie host tradition. Mac’s schtick is that a stereotypical pitchfork and torch-bearing mob once chased him into a haunted old drive-in where he met Boney Bob and began showing old, campy movies. Wolfman Mac’s show airs Saturday nights at 10pm on the cable channel called RetroTV. Tonight’s movie is Continue reading →

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April 27, 2011 · 12:04 am

PERSEPHONE: A QUICK Q AND A

Photo courtesy of Sickchixxx.com

Since 1992 Persephone has been a performance artist and power exchange icon. In 2002 she launched the site Sickchixxx.com and hasn’t looked back. Nowhere else on the web can you find such a  combination of pop culture, horror, erotica and engaging eccentricity. The Goth Goddess of Grand Guignol was kind enough to tape an intro for a Bad Movie Party for yours truly years ago when I got to introduce her to the neglected bad movie classic The Mummy And The Curse of The Jackals. Long- time fans of Persephone are familiar with her fondness for horror flicks and the Continue reading →

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